From the formation of new Marines as a sadistic instructor of instruction to directing a bucket of toy soldiers on a mission to move to their owner's new home, the late actor R. Lee Ermey has left his mark on a variety of shows . In fact, he has accumulated more than 60 credits in film and television during his 30-year career in the industry.

The actor's fans are remembering his iconic roles after his death on April 15 at the age of 74. [19659003] Ermey slowly became an actor after serving as technical advisor on films like "Apocalypse Now", "The Boys in Company C" and yes, even "Full Metal Jacket".

Nobody could play the role of Gunnery Sergeant Hartman is better than him: a Marine Corps veteran who served for 11 years, including 14 months in Vietnam. The film's director, Stanley Kubrick, offered Ermey the spot after watching a demo tape of him accusing the extras while the tennis balls flew towards him.

THE ACTOR OF THE COMPLETE METAL JACKET R. LEE ERMEY DIE AT AGE 74

"Lee Ermey … would spend every free second with the dialogue coach, and he always knew his lines," Kubrick said. Rolling Stone in 1987. "I guess Lee averaged eight or nine takes, sometimes he did three, because he was ready."

The decisive role earned him a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the Golden Globes, marking the start of what turned out to be an impressive career. Here is a look at some of his most memorable roles on the screen.

"Full Metal Jacket"

WARNING: THE VIDEO CONTAINS PROFANITY

Ermey was best known for his role in "Full Metal Jacket", and originally was not even his I had been hired as a technical consultant for the film of 1987, but had his eyes on the role of the brutal artillery sergeant and filmed his own audition tape shouting insults while tennis balls flew towards him. An impressed Kubrick gave him the role.

Kubrick told Rolling Stone that 50 percent of Ermey's dialogue in the film was his.

"In the course of hiring the marine recruits, we interviewed hundreds of boys, and even made an improvisation of the first meeting with the drilling instructor." They did not know what he was going to say, and we could see how they reacted. It happened to Lee, I do not know, 150 pages of insults, "Kubrick said.

"Toy Story"

Ermey continued to the voice of little green sergeant Sarge in the "Toy Story" movies. Sarge is loyal to Woody and completes missions to spy on Andy's birthday gifts, which the Toy Story gang sees as a threat. He is often seen with a pair of binoculars in his hands, exploring several scenes to instruct the toys on how to proceed.

"Sarge, voiced by the late R. Lee Ermey, is based on his character from artillery sergeant Hartman of Full Metal Jacket," according to the Pixar Wiki page.

"Prefontaine"

He also played track and field coach and co-founder of Nike Bill Bowerman on "Prefontaine" in 1997, alongside Jared Leto, who played Steve Prefontaine. [19659003] The New York Times called Bowerman's story the "most interesting sidebar" of the film in his 1997 review.

"The coach experimented with his iron waffle … and helped design the shoe Nike, "the newspaper explained. [19659008] "Toy Soldiers"

Ermey had several military roles throughout his career, including his 1991 role as General Kramer in "Toy Soldiers."

"Toy Soldiers is a clear and suspenseful thriller, well suited to the tastes of teenage audiences, who will certainly appreciate such touches as the equivalent microchips found on a student's radio plane and the detonator of the chief terrorist , which is manipulated to fly the whole school, "wrote The New York Times in 1991.

"The mayor [is] is a kind of skilful country club, who lectures against strangers who provoke fuss," wrote the famous film critic Roger Ebert in his criticism of the 1988 film. "More than any other movie that I've seen, this gets into the passion of race relations in the United States. "

"Se7en"

Ermey joined Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kevin Spacey, among other stars in this 1995 crime drama. He played a police captain in the film.

"A tremendously claustrophobic and heartbreaking thriller about the desperate efforts of two policemen to arrest an ingenious serial killer whose work is inspired by the seven deadly sins, this strangely messy suspensor goes well beyond the usual police procedures or mass murders, "Variety reported in 1994.

" The Texas Chainsaw Massacre "

He was also known as Sheriff Hoyt in" The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, "and according to Ermey, he was one of the best characters he has ever played .

"I love the character," Ermey told Cinema Blend in 2006. "The beauty of Sheriff Hoyt is the simple fact that he's a sexually perverted homicidal maniac, how do you go over with this guy? Basically, I was allowed to do exactly that, every character I've ever played, I always try to push it to the limit and not let it fall, but the directors tend to delay me a little bit, I hate to hear, "Less is more." I think more is more and with this character they left me completely mad, and that's what I love doing. "

"The beauty of Sheriff Hoyt is the simple fact that he is a sexually perverted homicidal maniac, how does he go over with this guy?"

– R. Lee Ermey

Hoyt is the "father figure of the Upset family, "FirstShowing.net reported at the time," Ermey takes The Beginning to a sickly, twisted, high point with his humorous lines and deranged mind. "

Fox's Samuel Chamberlain News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.